Roofing element



Fell 3, .1942- w. w. EsAlNla'RlDGl-IA 2,271,728

nooEING ELEMENT E Filed Sept. 19, 1940 Patented Feb. 3, 19- 42 ROOFING ELEMENT Williamv W. Bainbridge, Chicago, Ill., asvsignor to United States Gypsum Company, Chicago, Ill.,

a corporation of Illinois Application September 19, 1940, Serial No. 357,378

s Claims. (ci. 10s-s) This invention relates to a roofing shingle and has for an object the provision of a rigid roong element which may be readily applied to the roof of a building structure.

A particular object of this invention is the provision of a rigid roofing element of the asbestos-cement shingletype which may be economically and readily installed on a roof to provide an' extremely weather-resistant covering i whichwill not warp or leak over prolonged periods of time.

Weather-resistant and reproof shingles of the asbestos-cement type are well-known in the art and havebeen used in recentA years as a substitute for slate shingles. These asbestos-cement the following description, the accompanying drawing, andthe appended claims.

In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, a rigid shingle of the -asbestos-cement type is provided having an elongated main body portion dened by a longitudinal lower edge, which may be cut to simulate the ends of tabs, two end edges extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal lower edge, one of said building elements are rigid and have, in the past,

been somewhat more d iiilcu'lt to install than more flexible roofing elements suchas wooden shingles or asphalt-impregnated felt strips. It is necessary, for the most part, that rigid building elements of the rigid type be cut'and provided with nailing'apertures at the factory so that they may be readily installed Yon the construction job. It has been a problem readily to install these rigid 'building elements to provide a roof having a pleasing appearance and to provide a leakproof roofing surface in which the heads of the securing nails are completely covered byI the shingles in successive upper courses.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to providea shingle oi' the rigid type which is yde-.

- signed to be readily installed upon the roof of a building structure.

A further object of this inventionis the pro-V A further object of thisinvention is the pro# vision of a rigii shingle having apertures so spaced that the registry' of one aperture of one shingle with another aperture of a similar shingle provides a means for definitely spacing the shingles in successive courses.

still further object of this invention is the provision opa shingle having a notched edge 'X which serves-as a guide for positioning a shingle with respect to a lower -courseof shingles.

- Further and/additional objects will appear from' asY endedges being somewhat longer than the other, and an upper edge between the upper ends of the end edges extending generally obliquely to said :lower edge, the end portions of said upper edge being parallel to said lower edge, whereby a shingle isprovided having a somewhat-wedgelike shape, being'wider at one end than at the other. A plurality of apertures are provided in the upper portion of the main body of the shingle which serveto secure theJ shingle to any desired surface. These apertures are located in an area normally overlapped by a corresponding shingle .in an upper course, and certain of 'them are positioned to provide a means for automatically spacing the shingles in adjacent courses when one aperture of one shingle is placed in registry with another aperture of another similar shingle and the two shingles are secured to the roof by means of a nail or other securing means passing through the registering apertures. The positioning of these apertures to obtain the desired spacing in accordance with this invention will be hereinafter'more/ fully described. One end edge of the shingle may also be provided with-a notch or notches which may also serve as a guide for further positioning a' shingle in respect to a lower course of similar shingles.

'The shingle constructed in accordance wit this invention maybe applied with a minimum l of eifort and a minimum of measuring, since each shingle is provided with a means for correctly spacing it in relation to the shingles previously installed in the lower courses.

For more complete understanding of this invention, reference will now be had .to the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 vis a plan view of a shingle formed in accordance with one embodiment of this invention, and

Fig. 21s a plan view taken partially in section of a portion of aroof, partially covered with the shingles shown in 1.

Referring now particularly to. Fig. '1, a -shingle element formed in accordance with one embodi:

' mentof this invention\is there shown.l The shingle comprises a main bodygortion indicated l 2 generally at I0, which is defined by a. longitudi nally extending lowerbutt edge I2, a. short end edge I4, and a long end edge I6 (both of which are substantially perpendicular to edge I2), and

an upper irregular edge portion I8, 20, and 22.

extends obliquely to the butt edge I2 between- 1 the ends of the upper edge portions I8 and 22.

position, as will hereinafter more clearly appear.

The shingle shown in Fig. 1 may also be described I as one comprising a substantially rectangularly shaped main botiy portion, one longitudinal edge I2 of which defines the butt and another parallel longitudinal edge of which denes the head. of said shingle, said head having an integral extension which is generally the shape ofia right angle trapezoid, the trapezoid being defined by the area ABCD. Considered in this light, the trape`V zoidal extension 24 (ABCD) extends from the head edge of themain body portion of the shingle proper, which edge may be defined by the edge i8 and the imaginary edge taken along the line DC. The term right angle trapezoid used in this connection refers to a quadrangle in which the'two opposite sides AB and DC are parallel, in which one of the sides BC is perpendicular to the two parallel sides, and in which the side AD extends at an angle obliquely to the sides AB and DC.

The upper edge portions I8 and 22 are prefere1 ably of equal length. Such being the case, a pair of complementary shingles may be cut from-a single rectangular blank just two times the size of the element shown in Fig. l, by cutting the blank (not shown) along the lines indicated by the edges I8, 20 and 22.

' A plurality of yshingle elements having the shape described above may be stacked and ccnveniently bound together in anyl desired manner.

'The binding may be effected by a plurality of metal straps extending around a stack o! shingles at either end. The parallel relationship of the edge'porti'ons I3 and 22 with the lower edgek por. tion I2 provides a stack having uniform cross-v sections in those end areas, thus providing a suitableA accommodation kfor a at binding strap. AlsotheA configuration of the shingle is such notch serves as a guide for furtherl positioning the shingle when applied over a lower course after4 the shingle has been nailed to the root through aperture 28 and prior to thetime that the shingle is nailed into place through the apertures 28,' 38, and 32. as will be hereinafter more fully described.

The width of the main body portion of the shingle'element (represented bythe narrow edge I4) is suilicent to cover all ofthe apertures in the main body portion of a corresponding shingle in a lower course when the shingles are placed in As shown in Fig, 1, the longitudinally extending butt edge portion I2 of the shingle is provided with short extensions 8S and 31 and cut-in portions 38 to simulate tabs which serve to impart a pleasing appearance tothe roo! when the shingles are laid in courses. This is known in fthe trade as the American Method appearance.

The tab portion or extension 31 positioned adjacent the narrow edge I4 is preferably wider than upper edge portion I8 to afford maximum head lap when the shingles are laid in courses.

Reference 'willnowbe had to Fig. 2, wherein a portion of a roof is shown upon which shingles have vbeen placed in courses in accordance with this invention. The. roof comprises a suitable sheathing 42, which preferably consists of tight'- iitting boards and a. layer of asphalt-impregnated felt 44 laid thereover upon which the shingles are directly applied. It will be understood, however,I that the shingles of this :invention may be applied to other surfaces and may even be in? stalled directly over a wooden shingled roof without the necessity of interposing a layer of felt material. f

However, referring back to Fig. 2, a cantl strip 48 is applied along the lowerl edge of the roof to be covered, in order to provide a proper pitch for the shingles being laid thereon. A small rectangular piece 41 of shinglematerial is nailed adjacent the lower left-hand corner of the roof to serve as a means for spacing a iirst starter that the angle between the edge I8 and the edge 20 is minimized, thus lessening the danger of breaking the shingle. at this point.

The shingle element shown in Fig. 1 is provided withv a plurality of nailing apertures 28, 28, 30, 32, and 34, the apertures 28, 30, and 32 being spaced along the imaginary line CD in the main body portion -of the shingle. As shown, the aperture 26 is positioned near the left-hand edge of the element below the upper edge poi-, tion I8, and the aperture 34 is positioned near the opposite end edge I6 immediately below the upper end portion 22. The apertures .26 and 34 are also positioned so that, when the aperture 26 of one shingle is brought into registry with the aperture 34 of another shingle, the upper-edge portions I 8 and 22 of the two shingles coincide and the main body portion of one shingle is placed in a predetermined position in respect to the lother.l The Itwo shinglesv'may'be nailed to the roof through the registering apertures. Anotch 40 is provided in the endedge IS. As shown in the drawing, the notch is positioned in the line formed by the upper edge portion I8 and the apertures 2B, 30, and 32. 'Ihis shingle 48 from the edgel ofthe roof. The width of this piece 41 is equal' to the horizontal oiiset of shingles in successive courses, and the length is equal to the maximumwidth of the 'starter shingles 48. A row of starter yshingles 48 is thenl applied to the bottom edge of the roofing over the cant strip 46 and to the right of Vthe piece 4I, as shown. These starter shingles are narrower than the other shingles applied to the roof, and are formed by longitudinally cutting the shingle element ,shown in Fig. i along a line lparallel to the longitudinal edge I2. The width of the strip cut oi of the lower edge of the shingle shown in Fig. 1 to form astarter shingle is equal to the vertical distance between apertures 26 and 34, or to the width of the normally exposed area of the shingle.

After the starter shingles have been cut and nailed in position through the apertures 28, 28,

38, and 32, a row of full-sized shingles is applied directly thereover, the lower edges of shingles being flush with the -lower cut edges 'of the starter shingles. The aperture A2li of each of these upper shingles isv brought into registry with the aperture 34' of a corresponding starter shingle, and a nail is driven through said registering apertures in order to secure the corresponding edges of the starter shingle and the full shingle to the roof in overlapping relationship. As indicated above, the starter shinglev is initially cul; along a line which would make the butt edge of the full shingle substantially coincident there- 'with when the holes 26 and 34 of the respective,

shingles are brought. into registry. After a single full shingle has been nailed through the'aperture 26 to the starter shingle and the sheathing, it is then pivoted on the nail extending through the aperture 26 until the vnotch 40 in the end edge lli is superimposed directly over the Juncture of the upper end portions 20 and 22 (repre-- ,sented by the letter Ain Fig. l) of the next starter shingle. When the full shingle has been thus positioned, it is firmly secured to the sheathing by nails driven through the apertures 28, 30, and 32. It is to be noted that these apertures are not obstructed by the starter shingle, and the nails may be passed directly therethrough into the felt I4 and the sheathing 42. This entire course may be nished-by applying further full shingles to the starter shingles in the same manner. f

The second course is applied over the rst course of shingles in theisame manner as the shingles of the first course were applied over the starter shingles. To properly' position each shingle, the aperture 26 is brought into registry with the aperture 34 of a lower course shingle, and anail is' driven through the apertures into the sheathing V42 to secure the corresponding edges of the shingles to-the roof. Desired verltical adjustment and alignment of the shingle is provided by pivoting it on the nail inserted through the aperture-26 s o that the notch 40 is superimposed over the upper edge portions 20 and 22 of a shingle in the preceding course. Each of the shinglesof the second course is oilset from since other rigid shingles are suitable for construction in accordance with the disclosure hereand it is contemplated, therefore, by the ap' pended claims, to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

l. A rigid shingle of thefcharacter described adapted to be laid with similar shingles in overlapping courses which comprises an elongated main body portion defined by a longitudinally extending edge forming the lowermost portion of said shingle when laid in courses, a pair of the corresponding shingle of the rst course because of `the overlapping of the end edges I4 and I6. Consequently the shingle adjacent the edge of the roof in the second course is cut off at its narrow end and in an amount equal to thelateral overlap of the shingles which is equal to the length of the edge portion I8 or thewidth of the rectangular piece 41.

The third course of'shingles is applied in the same manner, and 'a correspondingly greater amount of the roof edge shingle is cut oil to lfurther offset the tabs of the shingles from those in, the second course and to prevent that shingle from projecting out over the edge of the roof.

In this manner, successive shingles may be' laid down in the successive courses until the entire roof is covered.

' Asbestos-cement shingles may be readily cut by a saw or by scoring with a sharp instrument and breaking in accordance with well recognized methods in order to produce the aforementioned starter shingles and roof edge shingles..

It is clear 'from the above-indicated description that the shingles of this inventionmay be readily and accurately applied to a desired roofing surface. They are designed to give a maximum coveragewith a minimum number of shingles. Each of the nailing apertures is fully covered by a superimposed course, and there is no danger of leakage due to faulty nailing. Furthermore,a tight securing ofethe shingles is obtained` due to the fact that they are in part secured to the roong by a means extending through registering apertures in a pair of the shingles. VThey maybe readily packaged by strapping into bundles and they do'not have any points of excessive weakness which might render them liable to breakage during shipment.

The shingle design described in this invention is particularly useful in connection with shingles of the asbestos-cement type.y However, it is not intended that this invention be limited thereto substantially parallel, end-defining edges extend-v ing substantially perpendicular to said longitugg'dinal. edge, one of said end-defining edges being f from each of said end-deiining edges and substantially perpendicular thereto, and an oblique upper edge portion extending between the inner ends of said rst mentioned upper edge portions, said main body portion being provided with a plurality of nailing apertures above" the normal line of overlap of a similar shingle superimposed thereover, one of said apertures being offset from another of said apertures whereby a predetermined spacing of the shingles is accomplished when one of said apertures of .one shingle is registered in registry with the offset aperture of an underlying shingle. e

2.. A rigid shingle of the character described adapted to be laid with similar shingles in overlapping courses vwhich comprises an elongated main body portion dened by a longitudinally extending edge forming the lowermost portion of said shingle when laid incourses, a pair of substantially parallel, end-defining edges extending substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal edge pqrtion extending obliquelyo between the 4 inner ends of 'said iirst and said second upper edge portions, said main body portion being provided with a row of. nailing apertures within said overlapped area, one of said apertures being positioned adjacent said i'lrst upper edge portion and another of said apertures being offset from said first mentioned aperture and positioned adjacent said second upper edge portion whereby a predetermined spacing of said shingles is accomplished'when one of said apertures of one shingle is in registry with the oifset aperture of an underlying shingle. g 3. Arigid asbestos-ce' ent shingle of the character described adapted tobe laid with similar shingles in overlapping courses which comprises' an elongated main body portion having the butt thereof and having end edges substantially perpendicular to said butt edge, said shingle having a generally tapered shape being wider at one end edge than at the other end edge, said main body portion being provided with a plurality of nailing apertures above the normal line of overlap of a similar shingle-superimposed thereover, one of said apertures being offset from another of said apertures whereby a predetermined spacing of the shingles is accomplished when one of said apertures of 'one shingle is in registry with lthe offset aperture of an underlying shingle,"said main body portion also being provided with a notch in the wide end edge adapted to further line up said shingle with reference to a' lower course of underlying shingles.

when the other of said apertures in said shingle is registered with the one said aperture in a. simi- 4. A rigid asbestos-cement shingle of the char-l acter described adapted to be laid with similar shingles in overlapping courses which comprises an elongated main body portion having a lower butt edge extending longitudinally of said body portion and having end edges substantially perpendicular to said butt edge, said shingle also having a generally tapered shape being wider at one end edge than at the other end edge, said main body portion being provided with aplurality of nailing apertures above the normal line of 4overlap of a similar shingle superimposed thereover, one of said apertures being positioned near the top of said shingle near the wider edge and another of said Iapertures being oiset from said rst mentioned aperture and positioned near the y top oi' saidshingle near the narrower edge whereby a predetermined horizontal and vertical spacing of the shingles is accomplished when one of said apertures of one shingle is in registry with the oiset aperture of an underlying shingle.

5. A rigid asbestos-cement shingle of the char.-y A acter described adapted to be laid with similar shingles in overlapping courses which comprises an elongated main body portion having a lower` butt ed'ge extending longitudinally of said body portion and having end edges substantially perpendicular to said `butt edge, said shingle also having a .generally tapered shape wider at one end edge than at the other end" edge, said main body portion being provided with a plurality of nailing apertures@ above the'normal line of overlap` of a similar shingle superimposed thereover,

lar shingle positioned in said course, said wider end edge also being provided with a. notch forv further .lining up said shingle with the upper edges of a shingle in said lower course.

` 6..A. plurality of rigid shingles vassembled in.

courses to form a roof covering, each of said shingles comprising an elongated main body portion having one longitudinal edge serving as the lower butt of said shingle, a pair of end edges extending substantially perpendicular thereto,

onel of said end edges being .longer than` the above the normal4 overlap area of -a shingle laid in a superimposed course, a rst one of saidapertures being positioned Iadjacent the upperportion of the narrow edge and a second one 'of said apertures being positioned adjacent the upper portion of the wide edge, each course of shingles on the roof being positioned to overlap that immediately underneath by fastening means extending through said rst mentioned apertureof each shingle of an upper course in registry with said second mentioned aperture of each shingle in a lower course.

7. A rigid shingle of the character described adapted to be laid with similar shingles in overlapping lcourses which comprises an elongated main body portion'dened by a longitudinally extending lateral edge forming the lo'wei'niost portion of said shingle when laid in courses, a

pair of substantially parallel, end defining edges extending substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal edge, one of said end dening edges being longer than the other, but both being` of sulcient length to extend into the area normally overlapped by a superimposed course of shingles, a first upper edge portion extending inwardly for a short distance from the end of the longer end dening edge and perpendicular thereto, a second upper edge portion extending inwardly for a short distance from the end of the shorter end defining edge and perpendicular thereto, and a third upper edge portion extending obliquely be-` tween the inner ends of said lfirst and said second upper edge portions.

8. The shingle recited in claim 7 in which the) main body portion is provided with a plurality of nailing apertures Ain the overlapped areathereof.

WILLIAM 'W. BAINBRIDGE. 

